Tabelog ratingRamen Atsugiya (ラーメン 厚木家) is a direct branch of Yoshimuraya, the Yokohama shop that founded iekei ramen: pork-bone and soy broth enriched with chicken fat. The founder's son runs it, and many reviewers rank it the best bowl in the lineage. The house style puts a sharp soy edge, the 'kire', through dense pork broth and chicken oil, with flat noodles from Sakai Seimen. The second signature is smoked chashu, whose smoky aroma reviewers say they have not found anywhere else. It has been in Tabelog's ramen 'Tabelog 100' every year from 2019 to 2025.
Nearly every positive review comes back to the broth, and many guests drink it to the last drop. The smoked chashu comes up constantly, especially the thicker tokujo chashu. Reviewers also praise the crisp, thick nori for wrapping rice, the fresh spinach, the whole uncut kikurage (wood-ear mushroom) and fast, cheerful counter service. Several say the service has softened in recent years.
About one review in six finds the soup simply too salty. Ordering 'usume' (lighter) is the usual fix. The chashu can be tough. Staff use a megaphone from upstairs to scold drivers who enter the car park the wrong way, which several reviewers found humiliating, and a few describe a curt, tense mood. One reviewer felt quality slips when the owner is away.
Lunch and dinner cost the same, typically around ¥1,000 a head. Reviewers in 2025–2026 paid ¥950–960 for ramen, ¥1,050–1,150 for chashumen and ¥1,290 for a medium chashumen. Rice is ¥200 with a free topping such as chashu-mabushi (minced pork), and kikurage or a seasoned egg is ¥100. Extra chashu is ¥100 a slice and tokujo chashu ¥200, both paid in cash at the counter. Reviewers call this fair value: the regular 160g portion fills most people, and asking for fewer noodles earns a free topping.
- Getting there: from the north exit of Hon-Atsugi Station (Odakyu Line), take a Kanachu Bus bound for Kogaku Daigaku, Washio Danchi or Hanbara from stop No. 1. Get off at Tsumada and walk 2 minutes. The shop is about 2.1 km from the station.
- Payment: cash only, including the ticket machine. No credit cards, electronic money or QR payments.
- Booking: no reservations, so walk in and queue. Lines of 30–50 people before opening are common. 15:00–16:00 and weekday evenings are much quieter, and the line moves fast. The whole group must queue together. Holding places is forbidden, and staff watch the line on camera.
- Ordering: buy tickets inside once seats free up. The two machines sell different toppings and are in Japanese only, with menu photos above them. At your seat you choose noodle firmness, soup strength and oil level.
- Seating: 25 counter seats, no private rooms. Guests are expected to leave promptly after eating. Children are welcome, and children's chairs are available.
- Photos: the restaurant prohibits photography inside. Reviewers report that a single photo of your bowl is tolerated.
- Smoking: non-smoking, with an ashtray outside.
- Parking: a small lot that is usually full. Enter only from the national highway side (Route 246). The residential side is exit only.
- Good to know: the shop closes early once the noodles sell out, and rice toppings often run out by mid-afternoon.
